The present invention relates to hole formation in turbine components and more specifically to the formation of holes bounded by thin walls using an additive manufacturing process.
Airfoils in a turbine engine often include cooling holes for discharging air through aircraft components that have very thin walls. Such aircraft components can include one or both sides of the wall section, a flange, or other component requiring a through hole such as: a film hole, an impinging hole, a floor orifice, etc. One example of such a component is the trailing edge of an airfoil having a cooling hole formed therethrough.
Conventional methods for forming cooling holes through aircraft components include casting and machining. Components prepared by either of these methods have limitations regarding the shape of walls they can be manufactured such as the minimum angles of corners and the minimum thickness, i.e., thinness, of walls that can be manufactured.